Development of infrastructure for refueling hydrogen vehicles

One of the most important challenges facing hydrogen as a transportation fuel is the current lack of infrastructure. In this paper, we assess various near term possibilities for producing and delivering gaseous hydrogen transportation fuel including: 1) hydrogen produced from natural gas in a large, centralized steam reforming plant, and truck delivered as a liquid to refueling stations, 2) hydrogen produced in a large, centralized steam reforming plant, and delivered via small scale hydrogen gas pipeline to refueling stations, 3) hydrogen produced at the refueling station via small scale steam reforming of natural gas, 4) hydrogen produced via small scale electrolysis at the refueling station and 5) byproduct hydrogen from chemical plants and refineries. Conceptual designs for hydrogen refueling stations are carried out and the delivered cost of hydrogen transportation fuel is estimated for various supply options and levels of demand. Several scenarios are sketched suggesting how hydrogen transportation fuel might be produced and delivered, as the demand grows.